Pioneering solar-powered aircraft unveiled

Swiss aviation pioneer Bertrand Piccard at the unveiling of the 'Solar Impulse' in Zurich on June 26

Whereas flying too close to the Sun was to be Icarus' downfall, it is to be the salvation of his modern-day heir Bertrand P
iccard.

For Piccard aims to circumnavigate the globe on an aircraft fueled by the rays of the Sun, and the first version of his mount was unveiled in Zurich, Switzerland on Friday.

The aptly named 'Solar Impulse' is a light-weight giant. Light weight, because it weighs no more than 1,600 kg (3,527 lbs), and giant because its wing span of 63.4 meters (208 ft) is greater than that of the Airbus A340 wide-body airliner.

It is the result of six years of work by some of the brightest engineers, who aim to prove that it is possible to fly with zero carbon emissions.

The power for the 'Solar Impulse' comes from 11,628 silicon cells placed on the upper surfaces of the aircraft. These provide enough power not only during day-time flying, but at night too, by drip-feeding the onboard storage batteries with enough power during the day.

The propulsive elements are four 10-hp electric engines driving 2-blade propellers.

The present version of the aircraft is designed to carry one pilot for up to 36 hours.

The ultimate version, intended to cross the Atlantic Ocean and eventually circumnavigate the globe, will have a pressurized cockpit to shield the pilot from the effects of high-altitude flying.

The pilot of that momentous mission will be no other than the aviation pioneer Bertrand Piccard.

The Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut became the first person - along with his co-pilot Englishman Brian Jones - to circumnavigate the globe non-stop in a balloon in March 1999, breaking numerous endurance and distance records.

The 51-year-old father of three, who is also one of the directors of the 'Solar Impulse' project, said at the Friday's unveiling ceremony: “Yesterday it was a dream. Today it's an airplane, and tomorrow it will be an ambassador of renewable energies and energy savings - flying day and night with no fuel and no pollution.”

Also attending the ceremony was the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Giovanni Bisignani. He praised the event as a “great, great event” which “shows the world that carbon-free flight is possible.”

He did not say that sweet revenge is possible too. In this case, the revenge of Icarus.